Gertie
by Zarathustra46
Summary: An old freighter holds many surprises for the crew of the Enterprise. Join in on the fun! This has been recently updated to fix the POV shifts - sorry to the original readers!
1. Chapter 1

**My apologies to the original readers of this story - the POV changes have now been fixed.**

**Chapter 1: Stowaway**

"Sometimes, Ship, I don't know why I kept you. You're constantly falling apart or getting too far behind in technology for me to fix you!" Gertie Andrews wrestled with the food processor, trying to find the problem with the dispenser. For the past three meals it had occasionally dispensed food without plates, and though the children thought it was funny at first, eventually they had grown tired of it. She picked up the micro-circuitry welder and ran it over several of the chips scattered in front of her.

"Ah, ha! There you are, you little wretch! I could've sworn I fixed you for good last year," she mumbled to herself. She re-welded the trouble spot, placed the chips back into the unit, and sealed everything back up.

"Well, you piece of junk, let's see if you work now." She dusted off her hands and, selecting a menu disk from the box on the table, slipped it into the slot. When she opened the door, there stood a steaming bowl of split pea soup. She smiled to herself and took the proffered bowl. After grabbing her tools, she headed first to the bridge to check on the ship's status, then took her midnight snack back to her cabin.

For once the ship was quiet in the artificial night. Her name was the _Plymouth_, named after Gert's father's favorite town on Old Earth. He had bought the ship seventy-five years before and for the last twenty years Gertie had held the captaincy. The ship was an old style trader, modified when her father had purchased it with the new warp drive, and she was capable of making Warp Five in an emergency. Since that first modification, she had been added to and upgraded until she truly looked like the hodge-podge she was.

When Gert took over the family business, she had started out alone, with no crew. One day she had come across a motherless set of Vulcan twins whose father was dying. She had promised him she would take care of them, and had – ever since. After that instance, she had discovered numerous orphans throughout the Galaxy and each time had been unable to turn them over to the conventional orphanages. The crew complement now numbered eleven with three Vulcans, a Klingon, two Andorians, three humans and a Sehlat.

o00o

Karx, the Klingon child, stared at the darkened ceiling above her bunk. She could not get to sleep. Earlier that day, when they had stopped off at the space station to refuel and pick up supplies, she had run across a stray Siamese cat. They had taken to each other immediately and Karx had managed to smuggle the animal aboard without anyone seeing. At dinner that evening she had succeeded in sneaking some food out of the cafeteria. Unfortunately, her conscience was getting the best of her right now, and she was wondering what Gertie would say when she discovered the stowaway feline. She huddled under her blankets while her mind worked out all the punishments that would come her way. As she mulled over the possibilities, they became increasingly worse to her overly active imagination, and the fact that it was dark didn't help matters at all!

Finally, Karx couldn't take the pressure anymore and so, to feel better, she got up to check on her new-found pet. Silently she tiptoed to the closet and opened the door. There, hidden in the back, was a box filled with an old soft shirt. Karx reached into the box and felt around. No cat! Quickly she checked around the rest of the closet and room, but the cat was not there.

She left to check the rest of the ship, feeling panic beginning to settle like a cold lead weight in her stomach. The ship was small, so she did not have much area to cover; however, since she had to be quiet, it took longer. Eventually she ended up on the bridge and there – on the control board – sat the cat, calmly washing its face, tail lazily twitching to and fro across the switches. Slowly, very slowly, Karx approached the station.

"Here kitty, nice kitty. I'm not going to hurt you." As she reached out for the cat, he jumped off and ran around the room. "God damned cat! Come back here!" Karx cried while chasing after the erstwhile critter. The cat was having too much fun! He would sit sedately in one place, cross-eyedly watching the child, and then at the last possible moment, jump free of her hands.

Karx finally caught the cat, but he didn't want to be caught just yet! He clawed his way out of girl's arms and jumped onto the control board again, hitting the autopilot to the "off" position. The Klingon did not notice this as she recaptured the errant cat, and kept a firm hold on him while heading for the turbo lift. However, she was not going to have a chance to make it back safely to her quarters. When the door opened, there stood Gertie.

"What, in bloody galaxies, is going on up here?! Karx, what is that you have?"

"A… a… a… a cat," she answered timidly.

"A cat." Gert repeated, flat voiced. She was trying very hard to keep a smirk from her face. "Where did you get him?" her mother pressed.

"At the space station, ma'am," came the quiet answer.

Gert just looked at her, then her eyes softened. "All right, go on back to bed and make sure he stays in your quarters this time! And see to those scratches on your arm!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Karx brightened and rushed to the turbo lift, a tight hold on the beast.

The captain quickly scanned the bridge and, seeing nothing apparently wrong, turned and followed her charge to the next deck below.

o00o

Next morning found Gertie up and around, early as usual. She headed for the bridge to check on the morning reports from her young charges. Stepping off the lift, she found chaos.

"T'Pem, report!"

"Captain, we're off course. The autopilot was shut off when we came up this morning." The twelve-year old Vulcan turned to the viewscreen to display the quadrant map. "We're supposed to be in this quadrant and we're actually in this one… I think."

"You think?" she asked with a bit of bite to her tone of voice.

"Ma'am, there's nothing to correlate our position."

"Let me see those readouts." In her mind Gertie saw Karx chasing the Siamese around the bridge.

T'Pria, T'pem's twin, gave her foster mother the required information. She quickly scanned the sheets and let out a low whistle. "I knew the equipment was rotten, but not this faulty!" she mumbled to herself.

At that moment a spark flew from the navigation board, throwing T'Pria off balance. As she picked herself up, she looked at the smoking ruin of a console. "That's it, Gert. The board is shot to hell."

"It can't be!" Gert cried. She got her welder from her tool belt and tore the cover off the board. For fifteen minutes there was practically pure silence; the only sound was that of the welder going over the circuits, attempting vainly to fuse them back together. Slowly Gertie pulled away from the board and with a sudden rage, threw the welder across the bridge, hitting the tail of Karx's cat as they got off the lift. The cat gave huge yowl and scrambled out of the girls arms, streaking away, mumbling to itself as it huddled over it's wounded member.

"Oh, shit!!" She took a kick at the console and turned to her charges, breathing heavily. "Alright," she said more calmly, "We don't know where we are and our computers seem to be on permanent shut-down, so… since no one can fix this junk, it looks like we are temporarily stranded; now's the time for a good old-fashioned distress signal. Karx?" She turned to the Klingon girl.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Since part of the problem stems from last night and your cat's free run of the bridge, you shall be the one to send the signal."

"Yes, Ma'am." Karx turned dejectedly to the communications panel. _"To any ship, please help. Repeat, please help. This is the trader ship _Plymouth_. We are stranded and unable to compute our position. Repeat…" _Karx kept that up and had it spread across all known channels. Meanwhile, the rest of the ship's complement trailed onto the bridge.

o00o

Captain Kirk leaned back in his chair, sipping a cup of coffee that his present Yeoman had brought him. This past month had been boring; routine patrols resulting in no skirmishes and only standard disputes quickly settled. The crew was getting a little restless after this and wanted some action.

Uhura broke into his thoughts. "Captain, I'm picking up a distress signal."

"Patch it in to the nav computer, Lieutenant."

"Done, sir." The woman's nimble fingers played across her board as the captain turned to the navigator.

"Sir, it's coming from ten mark twelve."

"Turn her toward it, Mr. Sulu, scanners on."

"Scanners on, sir," the Science Officer reported.

"We'll be there in ten minutes, sir," came from Navigation.

"Sir, I'm still receiving the signal."

"Let's hear it, Uhura."

o00o

"_Repeat, please help. This is the trader_ Plymouth_. We are stranded and unable to compute our position…" _Karx kept on talking as Gert and the twins tried vainly to get something working. The Klingon stopped for a moment as a red light flashed on her board.

"Gert, someone's responding!" She patched it into the speakers as Gertie stopped working.

"Plymouth_, this is the Federation Starship _USS Enterprise. _We have you on our scanners and will rendezvous in six point five minutes. Are you in need of medical assistance?"_

"Negative, negative," Gert responded. "No one's hurt, except our pride and one cat's tail."

"_What is your situation, Captain?"_

"Our navigation, science, and helm computers are knocked out, and our equipment is so old that we can't compute our position." She hated admitting that to a Starfleet officer – but he asked!

o00o

Kirk looked to the heavens asking for deliverance from these ancient freighters. "Assemble your crew for the transporter and prepare your ship to be towed. Kirk out."

He turned to his Science Officer. "Any readings, Spock?"

"I get strange life form readings on the ship, sir."

Kirk perked up. "Strange?"

"Yes. Apparently there are children of several different origins aboard that ship and only one adult. There are also a cat and a sehlat."

"That's it? One adult?" Visions of another Harry Mudd came to his mind – one that sold children. Kirk turned in his chair. "Uhura, have a security team standing by in the transporter room. Spock…"

"Captain, we are in transporter range," Sulu announced.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Kirk stepped from his command chair. "Spock, come with me." He turned to the turbo lift. "Lieutenant Uhura, tell McCoy to meet us in the transporter room and call the _Plymouth_ to make sure they are in position."

"Aye, sir."

McCoy entered the room and saw Kirk and Spock standing by the console.

"Transporter on," Kirk commanded.

As the technician pulled the levers down, six small forms began to materialize in the chamber. As they solidified, the doctor looked on wide-eyed as the three Humans and three Vulcans stepped off the discs. T'Pria led the others off as the technician set the system up again and beamed aboard the rest of the crew compliment: a Human adult, a Klingon child, two young Andorians, a Siamese cat, and a sehlat. As Karx picked up Spacer the cat, Gertie herded the rest of the kids towards the officers. T'Pem gave the Vulcan salute to Spock while her sister went to lead the sehlat off the disc.

Gertie walked over to Kirk holding her hand out, "Gertrude Andrews, sir, and these," she motioned to the kids surrounding her, "are my children."

"These are all yours?" Kirk looked at them and then at her incredulously, as he shook the offered hand.

Gert smiled, "Yes, sir. I run an orphanage, you might say."

Silently, Kirk breathed a sigh of relief. "Quite a mixture, Captain Andrews."

"Yes, it is, but they are also some of the smartest ones around. They grow up on a ship, learning to run it, and they have a first hand view of their galaxy."

Kirk eyed her for a moment and then turned to McCoy. "Bones, why don't you and the guards escort the children to Sick Bay for a look-over and then meet us in the briefing room on Deck Twelve."

"Right, Jim. C'mon, kids." He started out the door and with an affirmative nod from Gertie, the kids followed. The twins smiled as they left, due to a little slap on the backsides by Gertie. Spock raised his eyebrows and looked off into space.

o00o

"Ms. Andrews, please tell me, to the best of your knowledge, what happened." Kirk asked a few minutes later in the briefing room.

"We were in quadrant five niner, sector niner zero as of last night. Karx, my Klingon daughter, had smuggled aboard a cat yesterday afternoon and it got loose last night. In the resulting chase I suppose the cat knocked the autopilot off, setting us adrift. Since we were at the junction of three adjoining quadrants, we didn't have any idea where we were. The twins and I attempted to fix the problem but were unable to. That was the situation when you picked up our signal, Captain." She leaned back in her chair – obviously weary from the day's events.

"I see. Ah, Bones!" Kirk said as McCoy walked in with the children. He was carrying Laurie, the three-year-old Human, on his shoulders while she sucked on a lollipop.

"Down you go, honey," McCoy said as he lifted her down. She ran over to Gertie and wiggled onto her lap. "They're all in tip-top condition, Captain," he reported.

"See what the nice man gave me, Mommy?" Laurie showed her mother the sticky, dripping confection with a huge smile on her face. Gert smiled down at the child, whispering something special in her ear, and Laurie smiled as she stuck the sucker back into her mouth and snuggled back into Gertie's arms.

Meanwhile, the rest of the children trooped in and settled in chairs behind their mother. The Captain spoke quickly with McCoy and his other senior officers then turned toward Gertie.

"Captain Andrews, I am sorry for the inconvenience we have caused you these last few minutes, but I am sure you understand the procedures in such instances."

"Oh, of course, Captain," she replied amiably.

"Good. Then may I offer you the hospitality of our ship until such a time as we can repair your ship?"

"You're most kind and I accept it, thank you!" She reached over Laurie to shake his hand while the kids all heaved a collective sigh of relief.


	2. Chapter 2

**My apologies to the original readers of this story - the POV changes have now been fixed.**

**Chapter 2: Roller Derby**

"What do you mean you've got to put them in isolation!" Karx cried. Beside her the twins were also looking pained as McCoy directed a technician to put the two animals into isolation chambers.

"Look, kids, these animals have been all over the place. No one knows what germs they might have picked up. It's for their own protection as well as ours," he explained patiently, letting a little southern burr gentle his voice even more.

The twins tried another tactic. "Troilus _needs_ us…"

"…he's psychologically dependent upon us…"

McCoy raised his hand the kids stopped. "Not another word!" He softened his voice again as he looked at the dejected trio. "Look, I don't want to do this, but it is for the best and the captain wants it this way. You can come and visit them every day; but they have to stay here for ten days or until your ship gets repaired, whichever comes first." Their faces lifted a little at that slight reprieve and he scooted them out the door as Spock came into the lab.

"Doctor," he said absently as he watched the children leave, his attention on the twins.

McCoy huffed a bit before saying, "Spock, did you want something?"

Spock swung back around to face the physician. "Yes, Doctor, I came to deliver these lab reports on the children and to see that quarantine procedures went smoothly. As I have seen the animals in their isolation chambers and the children leaving, I shall assume that the latter did not meet with any difficulty?"

"None worth mentioning. A few bruised egos is all," McCoy drawled.

"Doctor, Vulcans have no emotions."

"As you have told me repeatedly; but how do you account for those twins and the other Vulcan child?" He unsuccessfully hid a smile at the First Officer's obvious discomfort.

"That is proving to be an enigma to me," Spock admitted, a wry look to his face.

"Not to me! They are raised in a Human environment." McCoy was enjoying this.

"Yes, I must look into that." He paused a moment looking pensive. "Here are the reports," he said handing the disc to the Doctor. "Carry on."

"Thanks," but McCoy said it to empty space.

o00o

"Now, lassie, let's see what's wrong your poor bairns," Scotty purred as he and Gertie materialized into the engine room of the _Plymouth_.

"Scotty, this poor girl is so old that if you get her impulse going, I'll consider it a miracle!"

"Ahh, I dinna think it's that bad, but she is old. And a beauty… this must be one of the first freighters ever equipped with warp drive! I dinna recognize the model though." He started poking around at the consoles.

"You wouldn't; my father built her himself seventy-five years ago."

"Excellent work. He knew what he was doing… ach, just what I thought. Yer father knew what he was doin', but yer circuitry is so old and oft repaired that it just plumb wore out. This is goin' to take some doin', but dinna ya worry. I'll have her fixed in no time."

"Well, let's get to it, and when we're through I have some vintage scotch mellowing in my cabin. I've been saving it for just such an occasion."

"Ahhh, that puts the auld fire in the veins! Hand me that welder, lass."

o00o

Sulu and McCoy walked into the rec room, expecting a quiet afternoon of chess, but instead found the place in a mild uproar of fun. The reason, of course, was the children.

"Marco, what's going on?" McCoy asked as the burly engineer came by.

"Hey, Doc! Uh, it's the kids. We don't see young ones that often and these kids are fun, and bright too. Those Vulcans are engineers to the core! Well, gotta go, shift comin' up. See ya later." He waved a cheery good-bye as he went out the door.

McCoy decided that the game had been cancelled when he saw Sulu heading toward the area where the twins were holding court. The rest of the children were scattered throughout the room. He noticed that one of the largest groups centered on three-year-old Laurie. Her brother Jonathan was with one of the Andorian children, Shalex, playing a board game. The other three children surrounded Karx: Scott, Thav and the youngest Vulcan, T'Horla.

McCoy was particularly interested in the small Andorian, Thav. The day before, during the physicals, Thav would not answer any questions the doctor had asked, though he did the tasks assigned to him. McCoy did notice that he was interested in the shapes and colors of the doctor's extensive liquor bottle collection. But there was still the small problem of speech; the child just would not engage in it. He thought back to his conversation the night before with Captain Andrews.

_"Doc, Thav's problem stems from the time I found him. The shuttle was drifting in space, an Andorian vessel. When I boarded her, I found Thav huddled in a corner staring at the dead body of his mother, a stillborn infant beside her. I got Thav onto my ship, then phasered that ghost ship out of existence. He hasn't spoken since, poor kid."_

McCoy walked over to Thav with an idea in his mind on how to draw the youngster out.

o00o

T'Pem and T'Pria were talking delightedly with the crewmembers. "Do you really have _every_ type of exercise and sports equipment on board?" T'Pria enquired.

"Just about. Would you like to see?" Sulu asked. The twins nodded enthusiastically. "Well, let's go!" Sulu and another crewmate led the girls out the door toward the gym.

o00o

"Karx."

"Hi, Doc. Scott, stop teasing Thav!" She looked back up at the doctor taking a seat next to her. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, nothing really," He pulled his chair a bit closer and picked T'Horla up, plopping her on his lap. "Actually, I wanted to borrow one of your charges for awhile?"

"Sure, who? 'Orla?"

"No; Thav." The young Andorian flinched at the mention of his name, but went on playing. McCoy placed T'Horla back on the floor and went to Thav.

"Thav, you want to come with me? I think I've got something that will interest you more than those blocks." He looked at the other two children. "C'mon, you two. I have a few games that could interest you too, and that way we can leave your big sister alone, okay?"

They agreed readily and T'Horla smiled and gave him a big hug as he led the trio out the door. Spock passed them as they left and the only reaction McCoy got was a raised eyebrow that stayed up for the entire time it took the doctor to conduct his charges down the hall, chuckling all the way.

Karx noticed Spock heading for a chess alcove and, after checking on Laurie, headed over toward him.

"Mr. Spock?"

"Yes, Ms. Karx?"

"Ummm… I heard you were an expert at chess and I was wondering if you would be willing to teach me?" _What am I doing? My father would have my head for this if he saw me now, buttering up a Vulcan!_ Well, her father wasn't here; he was dead in prison and she was alive. Besides, Gertie had shown her that kind words often work better than force in getting what you want.

"If you wish. Now the set-up…"

"Mr. Spock, I'm no novice; I do know the basic moves and strategies. I need help in fine tuning my game." _However, a little assertiveness never hurt either_, she thought as his eyebrow twitched. While he set up the pieces on the three levels, Karx steeled herself for a tough match.

o00o

T'Pem and T'Pria were awed. The gyms off the main rec room were impressive. Sulu had been right; every conceivable piece of exercise equipment and discipline was seen here. The girls saw ancient fighting drills from far planets, underwater sports for those in the aquatic mood, weightlifting and gymnastics, running tracks for different gravities, dance floors, and anti-grav areas for the crop of null-grav sports that had appeared since the early days of space travel.

But their favorite area was the one where people rolled over the floor in the ancient art of roller-skating. The graceful movements of those on the floor fascinated the twins.

"Mr. Sulu…"

"…can we try that?"

o00o

"Now, kids, I have here some of the latest in creative toys. We normally use it for crewmembers to let out their frustrations instead of talking to your friendly country doctor." Scott snickered and McCoy shot him a mock-stern look but softened it with a grin.

"Well, Scott, since you're in such a jovial mood, let's see what you can paint for us." McCoy led the boys over to a set of screens at a table and handed them each an electronic brush. "Here take this brush, dial the color you want and touch it to the screen… there you go. T'horla, you want to try? No? Well we'll sit here and watch the boys. Thav, why don't you try the screen, you turn it on with that switch there. That's right, son." McCoy sat back in his chair and watched the kids paint on their large screens while T'Horla curled up in his lap and went to sleep.

o00o

"You know, Scotty, I'm beginning to worry about those kids over there; they do have a mischievous streak in them," Gertie wondered aloud.

"Don't worry your head, lass. They'll be fine what with the whole crew to keep 'em in line. Now Let's get this job done so we can go to yer cabin and try that scotch y'ev been savin'."

"Aye to that, Mr. Scott!"

o00o

"Hey, Sulu, this is fun! Whoops…!" T'Pem fell with T'Pria tripping over her. Sulu stopped and laughed, his shotgun laughter ringing all over the small roller rink, while the two untangled themselves and got back on their feet.

"_Mr. Sulu, report to the Bridge,"_ squawked the box on the wall. Sulu walked over and pressed the button. "Aye, aye Uhuru, I'm on my way, Sulu out." He turned to the girls. " Well, gotta go. Have a good time and stay out of trouble."

"Sure thing, Sulu!" They started back around the rink, leisurely rolling along.

"T'Pem, you know the corridor outside."

"Yes."

"Well, it's curved and slightly slanted; I noticed it yesterday. It would be a challenge to race along it."

"T'Pem thought about it for a minute. "Okay, let's try it."

o00o

Spock checkmated Karx after a long battle. She studied the move and noted the mistake in her wrist computer.

"Thank you, Mr. Spock, I have learned much under your tutelage."

"I appreciated the chance to impart knowledge, Ms. Karx." He rose as she left the cubicle and then departed for his own rooms.

o00o

"It's all clear, T'Pria." The two pushed off down the corridor, gaining speed as they went and laughing all the way. Crewmembers backed out of the way as they heard the two coming, smiling as they passed. Spock, however, was not paying attention; his mind on a problem he wished to set before the computer. He jumped out of their way barely in time as the twins came careening down the passage towards him. They waved a cheery hello to him as they came by, but were not prepared for the stiff arm ahead of them as Kirk grabbed each of their collars and stopped them in mid-roll. They didn't even pretend to struggle as he lifted them off the floor and brought them, wheels still spinning, over to the stern Vulcan standing nearby. They did manage a nice green blush, though.

"Mr. Spock, I believe you know what to do."

Spock eyed his captain while crossing his arms across his chest and then shifted his gaze to the two very contrite children dangling in Jim's grasp. He gave his captain a slight affirmative nod.

"Good. I leave them to you." Kirk deposited his load in front of his First Office and, doing a quick about turn, headed for the nearest turbo lift; secretly glad he was _neither_ Spock _nor_ the kids. Neither position was going to be easy in this matter.

The twins stood – or rather wobbled – on the skates, looking down at the floor, not daring to look into that solemn face above them. Finally after what seemed like an eternity he broke the silence.

"I want you to return that equipment to the recreation room and then meet me in my quarters in exactly five minutes." He watched as the two took off back down the corridor and then he turned into the turbo lift, formulating the speech he was going to use on those two… he quickly suppressed the thought _"delinquents"_ and substituted _"children."_ This was not going to be simple.


	3. Chapter 3

**My apologies to the original readers of this story - the POV changes have now been fixed.**

**Chapter 3: Breakthroughs**

"Well, lass, we're almost there. Only a few more panels and connections to trace and replace and she should be purrin' like a kitten." Scotty smiled appreciatively as he patted a console and looked over at Gertie.

"You know, Scotty, I do believe that promise of the scotch is what is making this go so fast!"

"Yer partially right there, but," he grinned knowingly, "I also want to get back to me bairns and see what mischief those younguns of yourn have done to the crew!"

Gertie winced and put her back into the work.

o00o

McCoy placed T'Horla on a couch and covered her with a light blanket before going over to the computers to see what Scott and Thav were painting. Scott's was non-descript; a piece of modern art, colored blobs with no apparent relationship to each other.

"What's that, Scott?" McCoy asked the young boy.

Scott shrugged. "I dunno, I just like the colors."

McCoy nodded to himself, Scott was not the problem child though; Thav was. He walked over to peer at Thav's console and found the child staring at the screen. Immediately McCoy knew that not only was the child going to be a marvellous artist someday, but that McCoy had found the medium in which Thav could let his emotions out. The screen showed an Andorian figure – female – standing and holding a small child figure; a happy remembrance for the child. McCoy knelt near the boy.

"That's very good, Thav, is that your mother?" The boy nodded. "Very pretty. Why don't you paint me another picture. Here, we can save this one…" He helped Thav save the picture and open another blank screen. McCoy sat nearby and watched as the child worked. On the screen another scene slowly took shape. A room with large and small blue figures again. On the screen in back of the "Thav" figure could be seen a meteor shower. The tall figure had her hands up in the air with her mouth opened wide in fear and the small figure clung to her. McCoy came over and placed a hand on the artist's shoulder, taking a seemingly closer look at the painting.

"Thav, that's excellent!" He hit the save button again and pulled the youngster onto his lap as he sat back in his chair. "Do you miss your mother?" The child nodded, tears rolling down his cheek. "You want her back, right?" Again a nod. "But you know that's not possible." A third nod with increased tears.

"Do you like your new mother?" A vigorous nod and a small smile tugged at his lips. "Well, she likes you too, Thav; a whole lot. If she didn't, she wouldn't have adopted you. But, she can't really know that you like her unless you tell her. Don't you want to tell her?"

Now the head nodded quickly and the little face screwed up with anguish as the child let out a huge sob and buried his face into the kind doctor's chest and wailed. McCoy held and soothed him until, finally, the child choked out the words, "I didn't want her to die!" McCoy kept hugging the child, letting him cry and listening as the streams of words came out.

Scott took one look at the child talking and rushed out of the room in search of Karx. This was too good to be true – Thav was talking!

o00o

The twins found themselves, in four point five minutes, outside Spock's door – sans offending skates. They were a bit apprehensive as to what Spock would do. They still weren't sure what exactly they had done wrong that would warrant a call to his cabin. Granted, skating in the corridor was against regulations, but it was so much fun! And all that Spock had needed to do was to tell them, then and there, that it was against the rules and they would have acquiesced. Surely he knew that, so why the cabin call?

T'Pem hit the buzzer and the door slid open to reveal a large cabin, sparsely furnished – but for the traditional Vulcan firepot and some old Vulcan weapons in a niche off to one side. The firepot lent an eerie atmosphere to the place and did not help at all in alleviating the twins' feelings of doom. Spock sat at his desk and gazed at the two standing before him.

"I am sure you two do understand that what I witnessed in the corridor five minutes ago is not considered proper behaviour for a Vulcan citizen?"

The twins looked at each other. They had been waiting for the perfect break and now they had it.

"But, sir, we're not Vulcan citizens."

Spock's eyebrow twitched as he steepled his hands in front of him. "Then what world are you citizens of, if not Vulcan?"

"None, sir…"

"…we are citizens of the Federation."

"What is your parents' planet of birth?"

The girls looked at each other, then back at the adult.

"Uh, Vulcan."

"Then you are citizens of Vulcan," he said with a note of finality to his voice.

"I suppose so…"

"…technically." Darn, he had ruined their first advantage.

"As citizens of Vulcan," he continued, "you should comport yourselves as such." Now they understood why Spock was so concerned. Now they knew how to deal with him.

T'Pria started in, "But, sir, we haven't had the training! We've been with Gertie since we were a year old. She's raised us as best as she could. If that means that our inherent emotions are visible, rather than suppressed, then so be it. It hasn't harmed anyone. You can't deny that our intellect has not been affected and we are well adjusted."

T'Pem pushed home her sister's point before Spock could interrupt. "We are as Vulcan as you are, sir, but we've learned from Gertie that life can't be taken seriously. If it is, your emotions become stunted and life is not fully appreciated." She took a breath to go on, but Spock waved her silent.

"I shall concede that you are undeniably well-adjusted individuals, despite the emotional influences around you. But, I find it hard to believe that you are as educated in Vulcan's traditions as a child who has been raised in them."

"Test us," they answered together.

"Test you?"

T'Pem looked him solidly in the eye. "Yes, ask us anything about Vulcan laws, customs, Surak's constructs… we've studied it all."

Spock had to admit he was curious. Over the years he had come to much of the same conclusions that they had concerning the consequences of suppressed emotions. However, as the old earth saying went – old dogs can't learn new tricks – and years of control were too hard to give up. Still, Spock was dubious as to their breadth of Vulcan education, so he did test them. Sure enough, any question he asked was promptly and correctly answered.

He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers on the desk in front of him again. After a moments contemplation he looked back up at the girls standing in front of him. "If you know the laws and rules of our society, then why don't you follow them?"

T'pria answered this time. "Sir, for the last few years we have made it a point to study the constructs and what they truly set out for our society to follow. We have had the added advantage of seeing the galaxy with its great diversities. Our own siblings are of different cultures. Vulcan's current way is not necessarily the right way. We certainly find no fault in Surak's ideas, but in the manner that the Vulcan civilization has adapted them. As for ourselves, and our Vulcan sister, we follow the spirit of the constructs - not the letter."

T'Pem took up the explanation. "We know we embarrassed you just now and we won't do it again, but we can't just turn off our feelings. Isn't that the true meaning of IDIC(1) and Nome(2), sir? The embracing and incorporating into oneself of everything there is, accepting it and letting it harmonize within you? That is how we feel it should be understood." She stopped, letting the silence hang for a moment then Spock looked up at them.

"You have given me much to think about. Please, though, remember to conduct yourselves with a little more decorum during your stay us. This _is_ a working starship and not your personal playground. Is this understood?" The twins nodded meekly. "Good. You are dismissed."

He was consciously pleased over the answers the children had given him, but as they left his quarters, Spock mused over an old Terran saying that his mother was fond of, "_Out of the mouths of babes…"_ The thought trailed off into the realm of silence the children had left behind them.

Outside the cabin, the twins breathed a mutual sigh of relief.

o00o

Karx couldn't believe it when Scott came running after her, puffing out that Thav was talking and she had better run back to Sick Bay with him to see the miracle herself. Now she was looking at Dr. McCoy having a conversation with her brother; amazing!

"Doctor, how did you do it?" she quietly asked.

"Just a little psychology. I think your ship is going to have a little chatterbox for awhile, though."

"That's fine, I'm just so happy you got him to talk!"

At that point Thav looked up at his older sister and smiled. The next thing she knew she was holding him in her arms and he was hugging and telling her that he loved her. The door opened and in came Scott leading the rest of the extended family.

McCoy waited a few minutes for Thav to talk to everyone, then picked up the still-sleeping T'Horla and approached the happy group.

"This calls for a celebration! Who's up for ice-cream?"

A loud cheer that woke up T'Horla greeted him. She wiggled out of McCoy's arms and joined the rest of the group as they walked down the corridor.

o00o

"Well, Scotty, we did it!"

"Aye, lass, that we did. And for this scotch, it was worth it." He took another sip, savoring the alcohol as it flowed over his tongue. "Aye, that's smooth!"

"It's guaranteed to be two hundred and fifty years old from Scotland herself." Scotty just nodded appreciatively in reply.

"I wonder what's going on over there," she mused with a look over toward the _Enterprise_ hanging in the black of space beyond her cabin window.

"I don't know, but I think we better find out. I don't like leaving my bairn's for too long." In mutual agreement they drained the last of their glasses and headed for Gertie's transporter room.

o00o

The children were enjoying their ice-cream and listening enraptured to the twins' tale of their run-in with the First Officer. McCoy's grin grew wider and wider as they repeated to the group what they had told Spock. He winced though as they told how they had said Spock was as Vulcan as they were.

"Kids, I believe that is where the argument swung in your favor."

"Huh?"

"Spock's mother is Human. You showed him that even full Vulcans can show feeling without any restraint, and still be full Vulcans."

The twins looked at each other with an "uh-oh" look running between them. McCoy caught the look and chuckled.

"Don't worry, it is probably the best thing that could have happened to that Vulcan!" He couldn't wait to see what the eventual outcome of the First Officer's discovery was going to be.

Suddenly the table exploded around him as the kids raced up to the door and swarmed around Gertie, all of them chattering at once. Gertie finally hushed them all, but Thav continued without stopping.

"Thav! You're talking!" She lifted the small boy into her arms and hugged him close.

"Doctor, thank you. How can I ever repay you for this?" she continued after she heard of McCoy's treatment.

"Just take care of him, Captain Andrews."

"I always do, sir." She continued hugging Thav for a few more minutes, rejoicing in the breakthrough. Soon, though, she turned to the rest of the family. "Hey, crew, the ship's fixed and she's running like new. We will leave first thing in the morning. Now, who's going to get me some ice-cream?"

o00o

Gertie sat staring out at the cold, black of space from a darkened observation room. Her thoughts were happy ones as she went over in her mind again the joy she had felt when Thav had spoken to her. Not a day had gone by, since the twins had come aboard, that she had ever regretted taking the orphans in, and Thav's recovery was just one more reason why; they were her family, her life.

So much had happened in the last couple of days. All of the kids had learned something in their exposure to a working spaceship. Gertie, herself, had learned a thing or two – not only about her charges or her ship – but about herself as well. A discreet cough behind her broke into her musings.

"May I join you, lass?"

"Certainly Scotty. I was just contemplating the Universe."

"Aye, it is a monstrous thing at that; an engineer's dream and nightmare all rolled into one." He chuckled as he came over and sat beside her on the couch, facing the window.

"Aye," she agreed. They both sat in silence for a while watching the stars pass by.

"Lass, before ye leave, I want you to know that I've had a bonny time with ye. The camaraderie whilst fixing that ship of yourn was not something I've come across that often these many years. I just wanted you to know that."

Gertie smiled over at him. "I know, Scotty. I had fun too." She leaned over quickly then and kissed him. "I hope that I may see you again, but one never knows when our paths will cross."

"In that case, lass, let's make the best of the time we have left." He led her out into the corridor and the door shut quietly behind them.

o00o

At the transporter, Sulu showed up with two pairs of skates that he delivered to the twins. With a wink and a shrug in the direction of Spock behind the control panel, he hugged them and said goodbye while the First Officer unobtrusively watched the emotional exchange.

McCoy and a technician walked in with Spacer and Troilus. "Well, here are your pets. No damage done, just as I promised," McCoy said as he handed the animals over to their owners.

"Thanks, Doc," replied Karx as the tried to dislodge Spacer's claws from her collarbones with very little success.

Scotty soon arrived and Gertie walked over to him carrying the last of the scotch. "This is for you, Scotty. I wish I could give you something more for all your help, but I know you wouldn't accept it."

"Lass, this is enough – plus this," and he bent her over, giving her a resounding buss. "Now off with ye and take care of that ship of yourn, as well as yerself."

More eyebrows than just Spock's were raised at that, and McCoy was failing miserably at covering his snicker of amusement.

"Count on it, Scotty," she grinned, turning and herding the first group onto the platform. After they had beamed over, she gathered the little ones around her in the chamber. With a wave of goodbye from Laurie and Thav, Spock operated the levers and they too were beamed over.

Spock's sigh of relief was audible to all.

o00o

Kirk sat in the command chair and watched as the Plymouth picked up speed and pulled away from the _Enterprise_.

"Well, Jim, how's your boredom now?" McCoy asked as he stepped up to the chair. Kirk turned to look at the physician.

"Bones, after the past three days, I need a long rest. Know of any good planets in this sector?"

A gleam came to the doctor's eyes. "As a matter of fact…"

FINIS

1 IDIC: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations

2 Nome: Vulcan philosophy meaning "All".


End file.
